In Focus: 2016 Australian Statistical Boundaries

The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) defines the boundaries, and respective relationships, of regions in Australia which the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and many other organisations use to collect, analyse and publish geographically classified statistics. 

To name a few examples, such statistics include Census-derived demographic and dwelling data, future population projections, labour force data and building approval rates.  

ASGS Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2016 has just been released by the ABS. It deals with the ASGS core structures, such as Mesh Blocks and Statistical Area Levels 1 to 4, and the Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA).

The 2016 ASGS boundaries will be used for the publication of the 2016 Census of Population and Housing data and progressively introduced into other ABS data collections.

This is the second edition of the ASGS and it updates the 2011 edition for growth and change in Australia's population, economy and infrastructure. It also incorporates the Territory of Norfolk Island for the first time. Volumes 2 to 5 of statistical geography will be released progressively over 2016 through to 2018.

All boundaries from Volume 1 of 2016 ASGS have been published on MapDeck and complement the previously released 2011 data.

2016 Mesh Blocks on Statistical Area Level 2 boundaries

Correspondence files, describing the relationship between the 2011 and 2016 versions of the boundary data, will be added shortly to coincide with the upcoming upgrade of the Thematic Mapper app. These reference files can be used to recalculate 2011 Census statistics to present them on 2016 version of boundaries. Stay tuned for the updates.

In Focus: DigitalGlobe Recent Imagery Basemap

Curated, high-resolution images for nearly anywhere on Earth, captured by DigitalGlobe's constellation of satellites and published as a single map layer.

DigitalGlobe Recent Imagery Basemap is a compilation of the best satellite images from the DigitalGlobe Image Library. Individual scenes are colour-balanced so the mosaic gives the impression of a single, continuous depiction of the Earth's surface.

Mosaic of DigitalGlobe satellite images

The resolution of the images in this collection is between 30 cm to 60 cm per pixel. That is, the images capture significant surface area details.

The acquisition dates of the individual pictures vary throughout the world. For example, there are wide parcels of landmass captured in 2015 - mainly in the US and Europe, but the majority of the images date back to 2012-2014 or earlier (see DigitalGlobe’s web site for detailed information on vintage and resolution).

MapDeck users have instant and free access to DigitalGlobe Recent Imagery Basemap, as well as the Hybrid Layer, Street Overlays, Terrain map and Streets map.

Please note that personal versions of Digital Globe’s web services can also be set up on MapDeck using the Map Layers Manager app . Therefore, MapDeck users are not restricted to only publicly available satellite images but can utilise other image layers bought directly from Digital Globe.

DigitalGlobe Recent Imagery Basemap at close zoom

DigitalGlobe Recent Imagery is best for:

• as an all-purpose image overlay;
• as an image backdrop for transparent point-and-line layers, like streets or topographic overlays;
• for a plethora of on-the-ground situation awareness applications (like, for example, property condition assessment, access or parcel boundaries inspections, determination of existence of structures, pools or solar panels on rooftops, vegetation distribution assessment, etc.) but the date of acquisition of the images in a particular location should be taken into account.

DigitalGlobe Recent Imagery Basemap is a perfect alternative to Google or Bing image and hybrid layers, and it can be personalised with a whole range of free data available on the MapDeck's platform.